Global poll shows a Kerry landslide. (Hat tip: Ethel.)

PARIS — If the world could cast a vote in the United States presidential election, John Kerry would beat George W. Bush by a landslide, according to a poll released on Wednesday that is described as the largest sample of global opinion on the race.

“It is absolutely clear that John Kerry would win handily if the people of the world could vote,” said Steve Kull, director of The Program on International Policy Attitudes of the University of Maryland, a co-sponsor of the survey. “It is rather striking that just one in five people surveyed around the world support the re-election of President Bush.”

The poll of 34,330 people older than 15 from all regions of the world found that the majority or plurality of people from 32 countries prefer Kerry to Bush.

Asia was the region showing the most mixed results, although Kerry still did better than Bush. Kerry won clear majorities in China, Indonesia and Japan, but slipped past Bush by only a slight margin in Thailand and India.

The most negative attitude toward the U.S. came from France, Germany and Mexico, where roughly 80 percent of those surveyed thought that the foreign policies of President Bush had made them feel worse about the United States.